Mack Brown On that day in mid-December 2022, he turned on a Zoom call and said hi. Randy Clements, who patched in from Denton, Texas. Some people on the phone said: chip lindsay, the day before, named the Browns Tar Heels' new offensive coordinator, along with holdover members of the offensive staff. Topic: Exploring Clements' interest in becoming the Tar Heels' new offensive line coach.
Watching Brown from a computer screen was a man wearing a T-shirt that said “Run the Ball'' and a ball cap.
“That's what we want. We're off to a good start,” Brown said.
This mantra from Clements' tenure at the University of North Texas was a fitting starting point for discussions that brought up the terms “old school” and “North vs. South.” In fact, Clements took over the job and spent the next 17 months helping Brown and Lindsey fine-tune the Tar Heels' offensive mindset, which relied on Sam Howell's prolific arm talent. . drake may Boost your running game productivity.
Our efforts throughout the first year have borne fruit. The Tar Heels gained 2,149 yards, or 33 percent of their total offense, in 2022, but increased that to 2,505 yards a year ago, or just over 39 percent of their offense.
They had 124 first downs on the ground in 2022 and 138 last year, and running back attempts had 308 in 2022 and 349 last season. And Carolina has introduced a legitimate superstar to running in 2023. Omarion Hampton Last year, the most yards a running back could gain was 1,504 yards. Mr. Elijah Green 558.
One of the major storylines of spring practice in 2024 will be the mindset and continued evolution of the offensive line. The Tar Heels lost four players to graduation and one to transfer, giving the unit a much different look. The new version comes as several players already in the program have matured, with three players added through the portal in January and two more expected to be added this summer. has high expectations, and it helps that it's only the second year of the Clements era.
“They've had three coaches in five years, so it hurts recruiting and it hurts player development,” Brown said. “I'm really encouraged. We've got a really good, tough offensive line that will give us more depth than we've had in the past.”
“They're a breath of fresh air,” Lindsay says. “This group is working hard and has a lot of potential.”
The leader is Willie Lumpkin, is currently in his second year as a Tar Heel after transferring from Coastal Carolina. He plays right guard, and what he lacks in height (he is 5 feet 11 inches tall) he makes up for with excellent technique, toughness, passion, and precise handwork cultivated over many years on the wrestling mat.
“All his life Willie was told, 'You can't do this, you can't do that,'” Clements said. “He has no problem playing with an edge. The scar on his shoulder is just fuel for him. He's going to outplay everyone and beat everyone tough. “He's a great athlete, but he's just not that tall. He's a junkyard dog,” he says, “and he's going to hold on tight and never let go.” ”
He has a towering presence, in stark contrast to Lumpkin, who is next to him at right tackle. trevillon greenThe sophomore from Prince George, Virginia, is 6-8 and weighs 350 pounds. Green came to Carolina's summer football camp in 2019 weighing 400 pounds, and the Tar Heel coaching staff said they would hire him if he lost weight. During the 2020 COVID-19 shutdown, Green ran three miles a day, learned how to adjust his diet, and brought his weight down to 345 pounds by December 2021, when he signed with the Tar Heels. Reduced. His first two years were marred by injuries, but he's healthy now.
“Trey really cares, he cares about the program, he cares about the team, he has a big heart and he wants to do whatever it takes to win,” Clements said. “He's a coachable kid. This is his chance. We're counting on him.”
Brown added. “He's gotten so much better. When you get on him, he's so huge, you can't get off him. He's ready to be the player we thought he was when he signed him.”
The center position is held by austin blaske, a transfer from Georgia State.veterans Jonathan Adorno and Malik McGowan He is playing at left guard. And the left tackle becomes a bookend to Green on the opposite side.howard sampson, a 6-8, 325-pound transfer from North Texas. He was recruited and coached by Clements before Clements came to Chapel Hill.
“Howard has a bright future ahead of him,” Clements said. “He was scouted during COVID and I think he kind of had a setback. I liked what I saw then and I really like him now. He's very physical. He has all the tools he needs. He just works on the details and refines his technique. ”
In addition, two more linemen are expected to join the team this summer. Jakia Leftwich is a 6-6, 310-pound tackle with two years of eligibility from Georgia Tech, and Zach Greenberg is a 6-6, 310-pound tackle who played three years at Division III Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Four losses, 290 pounds of tackles.
“We're in better shape on the O-line than we've been in a while, especially since we lost four starting pitchers,” Brown said. “It looks like a disaster, but it's not.”
Kevin Donally started out as a guard for the Tar Heels in the early 1990s for two years and went on to play more than a dozen years in the NFL. He currently serves as a member of Brown's staff, serving as the director of Koman's Game Plan for Success and taking on off-field player development roles. Suffice to say he gravitates toward the offensive line during practice and is encouraged by what he's seen.
“I see them holding their own and getting more offensive line reps versus the D-line,” he says. “Coach Clements' second year here is going to be productive. They've had another coach for three years in a row. Once you build trust with a player, he's out of the gate. Trust is very important in the position. Trust the coach, trust the coach.'' The guy next to you, I'm seeing that more now. ”
Looking back on his NFL career, Donnally remembers two notable games while playing for the Oilers: 1991, when the team was in Houston, and 1997, when it moved to Nashville. Both games were against Dallas. In his rookie year in 1991, the Oilers averaged 48 minutes and 34 seconds per game. In 1997, the offense had one scoring drive with 25 plays and a time of 13 minutes and 21 minutes. Both are NFL records for most minutes of possession in a game and most minutes of possession in a single game.
“It was Eddie George on the left and Eddie George on the right,” he says. “The defense applauded us when we left the field. They gave us the whole quarter off.”
No one is arguing that the Tar Heels will return to the Bill Dooley era of the 1970s or the “three yards and a cloud of dust” mentality. It's just too much fun to watch Howell and Maye throw the ball 50 yards downfield. But there's certainly a happy medium with Brown's initiative of deflecting from attacks that are sometimes “too clean” at the cost of just punching someone in the nose.
“O-line is a different breed,” Donally said. “We're trying to win with mind, footwork and technique. The D-line always has the advantage on passing downs. They're stronger, faster, quicker. The running game is a great equalizer.”
Chapel Hill writer Lee Pace (Carolina '79) has been writing about Tar Heel football under the “Extra Point” banner since 1990 and reporting from the sidelines on radio broadcasts since 2004. Email leepace7@gmail.com and follow @LeePaceTweet. .
